Tag Archives: LAX

Buenos dias everyone! A friend recently asked some questions about an upcoming connection through LAX, and since there have been so many changes at that airport this year, I decided to write up a quick guide in case anyone else has an upcoming trip.

The Basics

LAX has 9 terminals – numbered 1-8 and TBIT (Tom Bradley International Terminal). TBIT and terminals 4-8 are connected by tunnels and bridges post-security; terminals 1-3 are not connected to anything. Note that if you’re going to TBIT and you have TSA PreCheck, there is no PreCheck at TBIT – you can go through the PreCheck lane in T4 and then walk to TBIT via the terminal connector (which conveniently drops you off right next to most of the lounges).

Trains and Buses from Orange County to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Diego International Airport (SAN)

This post was inspired by my recent Amtrak trip from Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight (link). I was curious if/how it were possible to get from Los Angeles Union Station to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). After doing some research, I found out how to get to LAX from Orange County. Then I figured out how to get to San Diego International Airport (SAN) from Orange County. There are several airports in SoCal, but I did not look into flights out of Long Beach (LGB), Burbank (BUR), Santa Barbara (SBA), Ontario (ONT), San Diego McClellan-Palomar (CLD), or Palm Springs (PSP). This particular post is probably only useful for SoCal readers, but the thinking process can probably be applied to many other regions of the country.

To start, I looked at the Pacific Surfliner Amtrak train route. Since the train travels between San Diego and San Luis Obispo several times per day, you can probably use this train to get to and from LAX and SAN.